JP2012073814A - Coupon management device and method for managing user of coupon distributed using social network service - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coupon management device for managing uses of coupons distributed using social network services.SOLUTION: A coupon management device 1, for permitting the use of a coupon to an applicant of the coupon and a customer who has the same taste as that of the applicant, permits the use of the coupon when a customer submitting an article in which a coupon image is inserted is an applicant of the coupon or the customer belonging to the same community as the applicant. Furthermore, for permitting the use of the coupon to a customer who has a similar taste to the applicant, the coupon management device permits the use of the coupon to the customer submitting the article, if a relation of a category of a community to which the applicant belongs and a category of the community to which the article is submitted is a parent or a brother.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing the use of coupons distributed to a group (community) of a plurality of customers having similar preferences using a social network service.

  In addition to paper-based flyers that have been used for a long time, stores are now using many websites on the Internet as advertising media for customers to visit customers.

  Advertising media to encourage customers to visit stores are used not only for advertising purposes, but also for distributing coupons that provide incentives by actually visiting stores and presenting coupons on Internet websites The customer acquires a coupon from the website by printing the coupon image displayed on the website or transmitting the coupon image to the mobile terminal.

  The reason why stores issue coupons is to increase the effect of attracting customers and increase sales by using coupons, so in order to further increase the effectiveness of coupons, customers in line with goods and services provided at stores It is desirable to use as a coupon distribution target.

  Various technologies have been proposed to provide coupons to customers in line with goods and services provided at stores. For example, in Patent Document 1, it is used by collecting and storing attributes such as customer preferences. A system is disclosed that selects and distributes only advertisements and coupons that are close to the type desired by the user or the type desired by the user based on the attributes of the user.

  Further, in order to increase the sales of stores, it is important to distribute coupons to a large number of customers in addition to distributing coupons to customers in line with goods / services provided at the stores. Then, it is possible to efficiently develop new customers by distributing coupons not only to one customer in line with goods and services provided at the store, but also to other customers introduced by customers who distributed coupons. A system adapted to do so is disclosed.

JP 2002-41932 A JP 2003-150839 A

  As a method of spreading the topic on the Internet, there are not only advertisements displayed on web pages but also word-of-mouth. However, the above-mentioned conventional technology was distributed to groups of customers with similar tastes using word-of-mouth. It is not an invention for managing the use of coupons.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for managing the use of coupons distributed using word of mouth to a group of customers having similar preferences.

  1st invention which solves the subject mentioned above is a coupon management device for managing use of a coupon distributed using a social network service, and manages use of a coupon distributed using a social network service In order to do so, the account name of the customer who posted the article from the article of the social network service (SNS) in which the customer who uses the coupon posted and the coupon image of the coupon used by the customer was posted is posted. The SNS community name and coupon ID added to the coupon image are added to the article information acquisition means for acquiring from the article and the coupon image sent to the customer (applicant) who applied for the coupon. In association with the coupon ID, the applicant's account name and the customer When the account name associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquisition unit is the same as the account name acquired by the article information acquisition unit with reference to the coupon database (DB) storing the name of the community to which it belongs Or, when the name of the community associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquisition unit is the same as the name of the community acquired by the article information acquisition unit, it is determined that the customer is permitted to use the coupon. A coupon usage management means for permitting the use of a coupon when one of the coupon usage conditions is satisfied and the coupon usage condition is satisfied. With.

  Since it can be determined that the community is the same as the customer having the same preference as the coupon applicant, according to the first invention, the coupon can be applied to the coupon applicant or the customer having the same preference as the applicant. Usage will be permitted.

  Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the coupon DB, a path for identifying a community category to which the applicant belongs is stored in association with the coupon ID in the community category tree structure, and the article information acquisition means includes: The customer verification unit of the coupon use managing means acquires the path associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquiring means and the article. Refers to the path acquired by the information acquisition means, and if the relationship between the category of the community to which the applicant belongs and the category of the community to which the article is posted is a parent or sibling, it is determined that the customer is permitted to use the coupon. A coupon management device according to the first aspect of the invention.

  If the relationship between the category of the community to which the applicant belongs and the category of the community to which the article is posted is a parent or sibling, the customer who posted the article can be determined to be a customer having a similar preference to the applicant. According to this invention, use of the coupon is permitted to a coupon applicant, a customer having the same preference as the applicant, and a customer having a preference similar to the applicant.

  Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, the article posted to the SNS includes a store ID of a store serving as a coupon issuer and location information of a point where the article is posted. The location information included in the article is acquired from the article, the coupon use managing means refers to the store DB that stores the location of the store in association with the store ID, and the article information acquiring means is based on the article. If the acquired location information is equal to the location associated with the store ID acquired from the article by the article information acquisition means, a store verification unit is provided that determines that the point where the article is posted is a store corresponding to the coupon. In the first invention or the second invention, one of the coupon use conditions is that a point where the article is posted is a location of a store corresponding to the coupon. A coupon management device.

  Since the stores where coupons can be used are often determined, it is desirable to add, as one of the coupon usage conditions, that the point where the article is posted is determined to be the store corresponding to the coupon, as in the third aspect of the invention. .

  Further, in the fourth invention, an authentication code for verifying the coupon image is included in the article, the article information acquisition means acquires the authentication code from the article, and the coupon usage management means If the authentication information acquired by the article information acquisition means has been successfully verified, it has a coupon image verification unit that determines that it is a valid coupon image, and that one of the coupon usage conditions is that it is a valid coupon image The coupon management apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects of the invention.

  In order to confirm whether the coupon image posted in the article is a coupon image managed by the coupon management device, it is determined that the coupon image is determined to be valid as in the fourth invention. It is desirable that

  Further, in the fifth invention, the number of times the coupon image is used is stored in the coupon DB in association with the coupon ID, and the coupon usage managing means is associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquiring means. A usage number verification unit for confirming that the determined usage count does not exceed a predetermined usage limit count and if the usage limit count is not exceeded, the usage count verification section increments the usage count and uses the coupon image One of the coupon usage conditions is that the number of times does not exceed the usage limit number. The coupon management apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth inventions.

  Since the coupon budget is set for issuance of coupons and there is often a limit on the number of times that the same coupon can be used, the number of times the coupon image is used is limited to the number of times that the coupon is used, as in the fifth aspect of the invention. It is desirable that one of the coupon usage conditions is not exceeded.

  Furthermore, the sixth invention is a coupon management method for managing the use of a coupon distributed using a social network service (SNS), wherein a device that manages the use of a coupon is posted by a customer who uses the coupon. From the article of the social network service (SNS) where the coupon image of the coupon used by the customer is posted, the account name of the customer who posted the article, the name of the community of the SNS where the article is posted, the coupon Acquiring the coupon ID added to the image from the article, and applying the application in association with the coupon ID added to the coupon image sent by the device to the customer (applicant) who applied for the coupon. Coupon database that stores the account name of the user and the name of the community to which the customer belongs. The account name associated with the coupon ID acquired in step a is the same as the account name acquired in step a, or the coupon ID acquired in step a If the name of the community associated with the name of the community acquired in step a is the same, a process is performed to determine that the customer is permitted to use the coupon, and the customer is permitted to use the coupon. A coupon management method, wherein: b is a coupon use condition, and b is used when the apparatus satisfies all the coupon use conditions. It is.

  Further, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the coupon DB, a path for identifying a community category to which the applicant belongs is stored in association with the coupon ID in the community category tree structure. The apparatus acquires a path for identifying a category of a community in which the article is posted. In the step b, the apparatus acquires the path associated with the coupon ID acquired in the step a and the step a. If the relationship between the category of the community to which the applicant belongs and the category of the community to which the article is posted is a parent or sibling, it is determined that the customer is permitted to use the coupon. The coupon management method according to the sixth aspect of the invention.

  Further, according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the article posted to the SNS includes a store ID of a store serving as a coupon issuer and position information of a point where the article is posted. Acquires the position information included in the article from the article, and in the step b, the device refers to the store DB storing the location of the store in association with the store ID, and the article information acquiring means If the location information acquired from the article is equal to the location associated with the store ID acquired by the article information acquisition means from the article, a process for determining that the location where the article is posted is a store corresponding to the coupon The sixth invention is characterized in that one of the coupon usage conditions is that the point where the article is posted is a location of a store corresponding to the coupon. 7 is a management method of the coupon according to the present invention.

  Further, in the ninth invention, an authentication code for verifying the coupon image is included in the article, and in the step a, the apparatus acquires the authentication code from the article, and in the step b, the device When the apparatus succeeds in the verification of the authentication code acquired in step a, the apparatus executes a process of determining that the coupon image is valid, and sets one of the coupon usage conditions to be a valid coupon image. The coupon management method according to any one of the sixth to eighth aspects of the invention.

  Furthermore, in the tenth invention, the number of times the coupon image is used is stored in the coupon DB in association with the coupon ID, and in the step b, the device associates with the coupon ID acquired in the step a. It is confirmed that the predetermined number of uses does not exceed a predetermined use limit number. If the use limit number is not exceeded, a process of incrementing the use number is executed, and the use number of the coupon image is used. The coupon management method according to any one of the sixth to ninth inventions, wherein one of the coupon use conditions is that the limit number of times is not exceeded.

  According to the sixth to tenth aspects, the same effects as those of the first to sixth aspects described above can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an apparatus and a method for managing the use of coupons distributed using word of mouth to a group of customers having similar preferences.

The figure explaining the structure of the system which has arrange | positioned the coupon management apparatus. The figure explaining a mode that the topic of a coupon spreads. The figure explaining the article which concerns on a coupon. The figure explaining the function requested | required of a coupon management apparatus. The figure explaining the tree structure of a category. The flowchart which showed the process which a coupon management apparatus manages utilization of a coupon. The flowchart of the process which confirms whether the coupon use condition which concerns on a customer is satisfy | filled. The flowchart which showed the procedure in which a coupon management apparatus issues a coupon.

  From this, the embodiments of the present invention will be described to the extent that those skilled in the art of the invention can understand the contents of the invention and implement the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a system in which a coupon management device 1 according to the present embodiment is arranged. The coupon management apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment uses a social network service 2 (SNS: Social Network Service) to distribute coupons to a group (community) of a plurality of customers having similar preferences, This system was developed for the purpose of guidance.

  In the present invention, SNS2 is a Web site constructed so as to allow communication between users, and in this embodiment, SNS2 has a community for each tree category.

  In addition to the above-described SNS2, the system shown in FIG. 1 includes a mobile terminal 3 possessed by a customer who uses SNS2, a coupon management device 1 that issues and uses coupons, and stores that serve as coupon issuers. A store terminal 4 to be installed is included, and FIG. 1 illustrates a GPS satellite 5 used when the mobile terminal 3 acquires position information.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining how coupons spread. In the system illustrated in FIG. 1, the word of mouth for spreading the coupon is an article posted to SNS2, and FIG. 2 illustrates three communities A, Community B, and Community C as SNS2 communities. .

  Since the word-of-mouth to spread the coupon is an article posted to SNS2, the customer to whom the coupon is distributed becomes the customer who uses SNS2, and the customer who applied for the coupon (hereinafter referred to as the applicant) When you visit a store where you can use, you can use the mobile terminal 3 owned by the applicant to post an article related to the coupon to the community A to which the applicant belongs. Articles related to coupons are spread to customers A1 to A3.

  In FIG. 2, since the customer A3 belonging to the same community A as the applicant belongs to the community B in addition to the community A, when the customer A3 posts to the community B, the customer A3 is a friend of the customer A3 and belongs to the community B Articles related to coupons are spread to customers B1 to B3.

  Further, in FIG. 2, since the customer B3 belonging to the same community B as the customer A3 belongs to the community C in addition to the community B, the customer B3 submits an article related to the coupon to the community C, so that the customer B3 Articles relating to coupons are spread to customers C1 to C3 belonging to the same community C.

  In this way, in SNS2, since one customer often belongs to multiple communities, an article related to a coupon posted by the applicant can be obtained by the applicant through the friend of the applicant or the friend of the applicant. It will spread to communities that do not belong.

  First, the mobile terminal 3 of the system illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described. The mobile terminal 3 may be any computer device that has a wireless network communication function and a GPS function for acquiring location information and is equipped with a browser that can browse web pages. For example, a mobile phone or a smartphone is used in this embodiment. The portable terminal 3 can be used. The GPS function includes a method using the GPS satellite 5 and a method using a wireless relay base station.

  When a customer who uses a coupon visits a store where the coupon can be used, before using the coupon, the customer operates the mobile terminal 3 possessed by the customer to post an article related to the coupon to the community to which the customer belongs. An article related to the posted coupon is presented to the store side. When posting an article related to a coupon to a community to which a customer belongs, the GPS function of the mobile terminal 3 is used to add position information (latitude / longitude) of this point to the posted article.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an article related to a coupon posted to SNS2. The article related to the coupon illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the name of the community in which the article related to the coupon is posted (here, “dog favorite square”), the account name of the customer who posted the article related to the coupon (here, "Customer A"), the title of the article related to the coupon (here, "I came to the shop!"), The text of the article related to the coupon (here, "How about everyone? Is there a coupon?"), The customer The coupon image corresponding to the coupon to be used and the location information of the point where the article is posted (here, “north latitude xxx.xxxxxx, east longitude yy.yyyyyy”) are included.

  When the coupon image is transmitted to the portable terminal 3, the coupon ID generated on the coupon management device 1 side (here, “ABCDEFG”) and the coupon image are transmitted to the portable terminal 3 in the meta of the coupon image. The authentication code generated on the coupon management device 1 side (here “xjsjaila278ae0”) and the store ID (here “shop01”) of the store that can use the coupon corresponding to the coupon image are included. The contents of the incentive given to the customer by using are displayed.

  Next, the store terminal 4 of the system illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described. The store terminal 4 of the present embodiment is a device realized using a personal computer or the like. The device used as the store terminal 4 for realizing the present invention includes a customer who uses a coupon via a network. A means for transmitting the URL of an article related to the posted coupon to the coupon management apparatus 1 is provided.

  Specifically, the store terminal 4 is provided with character input means such as a keyboard, and when a customer desires to use a coupon, the URL of an article related to the coupon presented to the store by the customer is input by the store clerk. The store terminal 4 transmits a coupon usage request including the input URL to the coupon management device 1, and when the coupon management device 1 is notified of the coupon usage permission, the coupon image displayed in the article related to the coupon is displayed. The customer is given the incentive indicated by

  The specific content given to the customer with the incentive indicated by the coupon image is arbitrary. For example, when the incentive is a discount, the processing for discounting the customer's settlement amount is executed at the cash register, etc. When providing goods / services free of charge, the store will provide goods / services according to the coupon to customers free of charge.

  Next, the coupon management apparatus 1 of the system illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining functions required for the coupon management apparatus 1.

  The coupon management device 1 of the system shown in FIG. 1 is a device realized by using a general-purpose web server having a CPU, RAM, BIOS, data storage device, network interface, etc. As shown in FIG. As a means realized by a computer program for operating a web server that functions as the coupon management device 1, when a coupon use request is received from a coupon issuing means 18 that operates when a coupon is issued and a store terminal 4 is received. The article information acquisition means 10 and the coupon use management means 11 that operate are provided, and as a database (DB: DataBase) used by these means, a store DB 16 for registering information relating to a store from which the coupon is issued, and a issued database A coupon DB 17 for managing the coupons is provided in the data storage device. .

  From here, each DB with which the coupon management apparatus 1 was equipped is demonstrated. In the store DB 16, a record is provided for each store ID for identifying a store from which a coupon is issued, and in this record, as shown in FIG. 5, the store ID assigned to the store by the coupon management device 1. Store name, store address, store contact information (telephone number), store location (latitude / longitude), and coupon images corresponding to coupons issued by the store.

  The coupon DB 17 is provided with a record for each coupon issued by the coupon management device 1, and information for managing the issued coupon is stored in this record. In this embodiment, as information relating to issued coupons, the coupon management device 1 generates the coupon ID generated to uniquely identify the issued coupon, and the account name of the customer who applied for the coupon issue (hereinafter referred to as the applicant). , SNS2 URL used by the applicant, name of the community to which the applicant belongs, path of identifying the community category used by the applicant in the community category tree structure, issuance of issued coupons The store ID of the original store, the authentication code generated by the coupon management device 1 when the coupon is issued, and the number of times the issued coupon image is used are included. Incremented.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a tree structure of categories. In the tree structure shown in FIG. 5, the categories immediately below the root are “animal lover” and “car lover”, and “dog lover” and “cat lover” are provided as children of the “animal lover” category. ing.

  For example, in FIG. 5, if the category of the community to which the applicant belongs is “dog lover”, “root> animal lover> dog lover” is stored as a path for identifying the community category used by the applicant. Is done.

  Next, the article information acquisition means 10 provided in the coupon management device 1 will be described. The article information acquisition means 10 provided in the coupon management device 1 is means for acquiring information relating to an article posted to the SNS 2 before the customer uses the coupon. In this embodiment, the article information acquisition means 10 is a store Access the URL sent from the terminal 4, analyze the markup language of the article published in the URL, etc., the account name of the customer who posted the article, the name of the community where the article was posted, the category of the community In the tree structure, the path for identifying the category of the community to which the article is posted, the position information of the point at which the article is posted, the coupon ID, the authentication code, and the store ID included in the meta information of the coupon image are acquired from the article.

  Next, the coupon use management means 11 provided in the coupon management apparatus 1 will be described. The coupon use management means 11 of the coupon management apparatus 1 is a means provided in the coupon management apparatus 1 for managing the use of coupons, and when all the coupon use conditions predetermined in the coupon management apparatus 1 are satisfied, The use permission of the coupon is notified to the store terminal 4 that has received the coupon use request.

  In this embodiment, as coupon usage conditions, coupon usage conditions related to customers who use coupons, coupon usage conditions related to stores where coupons are used, coupon usage conditions related to coupon images presented by customers, A coupon usage condition related to the number of times of use of the presented coupon image is set, and a customer verification unit 12 that checks whether the coupon usage condition related to the customer is satisfied, and a store verification unit 13 that checks whether the coupon usage condition related to the store is satisfied. The coupon usage management unit 11 includes a coupon image verification unit 14 that checks whether a coupon usage condition related to the coupon image is satisfied, and a usage count verification unit 15 that checks whether the coupon usage condition related to the usage count is satisfied.

  From here, these means will be described in detail while explaining the processing executed by the article information acquisition means 10 and the coupon use management means 11 of the coupon management apparatus 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process in which the coupon management apparatus 1 manages the use of coupons.

  When a coupon usage request is received from the store terminal 4, first, the article information acquisition means 10 of the coupon management apparatus 1 operates, and the article information acquisition means 10 accesses the URL included in the coupon usage request, and at the access destination. The customer who posted the article related to the coupon, the store ID of the store that can use the coupon corresponding to the coupon ID, the authentication code, and the coupon image as the information related to the article by analyzing the tag or file of the published article Account name, the name of the community of the SNS2 where the article was posted, the path that identifies the category of the community where the article was posted in the community category tree structure, and the location information of the point where the article was posted Obtain (S1).

  According to the article illustrated in FIG. 3, the account name of the customer who posted the article related to the coupon, the name of the community of the SNS2 where the article was posted, and the location information of the point where the article was posted are displayed in the article. Therefore, this information can be obtained by analyzing the tag of the article.

  Further, the coupon ID generated on the coupon management device 1 side, the authentication code generated on the coupon management device 1 side, and the store ID of the store that can use the coupon corresponding to the coupon image are included in the meta information of the coupon image. This information can be obtained by analyzing the coupon image file.

  Furthermore, in the tree structure of community categories, if an article displays a path that identifies the category of the community to which the article is posted, these paths can be obtained by analyzing the article tag. If it is not displayed in the article, the path can be obtained by analyzing the tag of the top page of the community where the article is posted.

  When the article information acquisition unit 10 of the coupon management apparatus 1 acquires the above-described information from the article, the coupon usage management unit 11 uses the acquired information and satisfies all the coupon usage conditions set in advance in the coupon usage management unit 11. By checking whether it is present, the coupon usage is determined (S2).

  In this embodiment, the coupon use management means 11 of the coupon management apparatus 1 is a customer who is permitted to use a coupon in order to verify that the coupon use condition predetermined for the coupon management apparatus 1 is satisfied. A customer verification unit 12 that checks whether the store is a store corresponding to the coupon, a coupon image verification unit 14 that checks whether the store is a valid coupon image, and a usage that checks the number of times the coupon image is used Since the number verification unit 15 is operated, it is checked whether the coupon use condition is satisfied by operating these.

  Although the order of confirming the coupon usage conditions is arbitrary, in this embodiment, the coupon usage management means 11 first operates the customer verification unit 12 to confirm whether the customer is permitted to use the coupon. Then, it is confirmed whether or not the coupon usage conditions related to the customer are satisfied (S10).

  To allow coupons to be distributed to multiple customers who have the same preferences as the applicant, limit the customers permitted to use the coupon to those who belong to the same community as the coupon applicant and applicant However, in SNS2, categories are often organized in a tree, so if the relationship between the category of the community to which the article is posted and the category of the community to which the applicant belongs is a parent / child or sibling, the applicant Therefore, in this embodiment, the use of coupons is permitted even for such customers.

  For example, in FIG. 5, if the category of the community to which the article is posted is “cat lover”, the parent category of the “dog lover” category is “animal lover” and the sibling category is “dog lover”. Therefore, if the community category to which the applicant belongs is “animal lover” or “dog lover”, the customer who posted the article is permitted to use the coupon.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing for confirming whether or not a coupon use condition relating to a customer is satisfied. When the customer verification unit 12 of the coupon usage management means 11 confirms whether the customer who applied for the coupon usage satisfies the coupon usage conditions related to the customer, first, the customer who uses the coupon is the coupon applicant. (S20).

  The customer verification unit 12 of the coupon usage management unit 11 acquires the account name associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquisition unit 10 from the coupon DB 17, and the account name acquired by the article information acquisition unit 10 is obtained from the coupon DB 17. It is checked whether the acquired account name is the same, and if each account name is the same, the customer who uses the coupon is determined as the coupon applicant.

  The customer verification unit 12 of the coupon usage management unit 11 branches the process according to the confirmation result of whether or not the customer is a coupon applicant (S21), and if the customer who uses the coupon determines that the customer is a coupon applicant, It determines with satisfy | filling the coupon use condition which concerns (S27), and complete | finishes this procedure. If it is determined that the customer who uses the coupon is not an applicant for the coupon, it is confirmed whether the customer belongs to the same community as the applicant's community (S22).

  The customer verification unit 12 of the coupon usage management unit 11 acquires the community name associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquisition unit 10 from the coupon DB 17, and the community name acquired by the article information acquisition unit 10 is the coupon. It is confirmed whether the name of the community acquired from the DB 17 is the same. If the name of each community is the same, the customer who uses the coupon is determined to be a customer who belongs to the same community as the applicant.

  The customer verification unit 12 of the coupon use management unit 11 branches the process according to the confirmation result of whether or not the customer belongs to the same community as the applicant's community (S23), and the customer who uses the coupon is the same as the applicant. If it is determined that the customer belongs to the community, it is determined that the coupon use condition related to the customer is satisfied (S27), and this procedure is terminated. If it is determined that the customer does not belong to the same community as the applicant, it is confirmed whether the relationship between the category of the community to which the applicant belongs and the category acquired by the article information acquisition means 10 is a parent or a brother (S24).

  The customer verification unit 12 of the coupon usage management unit 11 acquires the path of the category associated with the coupon ID acquired from the article by the article information acquisition unit 10 from the coupon DB 17, and the path acquired by the article information acquisition unit 10 and the coupon DB 17 The relationship between the category of the community to which the applicant belongs and the category acquired by the article information acquisition means 10 is checked from the path acquired from the above, and when the relationship of the category is parent or child or sibling, it is determined that the customer has a similar preference to the applicant. Then, it is determined that the coupon usage conditions related to the customer are satisfied.

  The customer verification unit 12 of the coupon use management unit 11 branches the process according to the confirmation result whether the category relationship is a parent or a sibling (S25), and determines that the category relationship is a parent or a sibling. It determines with satisfy | filling the coupon use condition which concerns on (S27), and complete | finishes this procedure. If it is determined that the category relationship does not exist with the parent or sibling, it is determined that the coupon use condition relating to the customer is not satisfied (S26), and this procedure is terminated.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The coupon usage management means 11 branches the process according to the determination result of the coupon usage conditions related to the customer (S11), and determines that the coupon usage is not permitted in the case of a customer who does not satisfy the coupon usage conditions related to the customer. The store terminal 4 is notified of the non-permission of the use of (S4).

  In addition, when the coupon usage management unit 11 satisfies the coupon usage conditions related to the customer, the coupon usage management unit 11 operates the store verification unit 13 to check whether the place where the customer is is a store from which the coupon is issued. It is confirmed whether or not the coupon usage conditions related to are satisfied (S12).

  When the store verification unit 13 of the coupon usage management unit 11 confirms whether the store corresponds to the coupon, the article information acquisition unit 10 acquires the store ID associated with the coupon ID acquired from the article from the coupon DB 17, The location associated with the store ID acquired from the coupon DB 17 is acquired from the store DB 16.

  Then, the store verification unit 13 of the coupon usage management unit 11 confirms whether the position information acquired from the article by the article information acquisition unit 10 is included in a certain range centered on the location acquired from the store DB 16, If it is included within a certain range, it is determined that the place where the customer is located is the store from which the coupon is issued, and it is determined that the coupon usage conditions related to the store are satisfied.

  The coupon usage management means 11 branches the process according to the determination result of the coupon usage condition related to the store (S13). If the coupon usage condition related to the store is not satisfied, the coupon usage management unit 11 determines that the coupon usage is not permitted and uses the coupon. Is notified to the store terminal 4 (S4), and this procedure is terminated.

  Moreover, the coupon use management means 11 operates the coupon image verification part 14 when the coupon use condition which concerns on a store is satisfy | filled, and the coupon image which the customer showed is a valid coupon image which the coupon management apparatus 1 issued. By confirming whether it exists, it is confirmed whether the coupon use condition which concerns on a coupon image is satisfy | filled (S14).

  When the coupon image verification unit 14 of the coupon usage management unit 11 confirms the validity of the coupon image, the article information acquisition unit 10 acquires the authentication code associated with the coupon ID acquired from the article from the coupon DB 17, and then the article When the information means collates the authentication code acquired from the article with the authentication code acquired from the coupon DB 17, and the article information means succeeds in matching the authentication code acquired from the article, it is determined that the use condition related to the coupon image is satisfied. .

  Note that the content to be verified by the authentication information acquired from the article by the article information means is arbitrary. For example, when the ciphertext of the coupon ID encrypted using a predetermined encryption key is used as the authentication code, the authentication code is the encryption key. The authentication code is verified by comparing with the coupon ID acquired from the article.

  The coupon usage management unit 11 branches the process according to the determination result of the usage condition related to the coupon image (S15). If the usage condition related to the coupon image is not satisfied, the coupon usage management unit 11 determines that the usage of the coupon is not permitted. The store terminal 4 is notified of the non-permission of use (S4), and this procedure is terminated.

  In addition, the coupon usage management unit 11 operates the usage count verification unit 15 when the usage conditions related to the coupon image are satisfied, and confirms that the usage count of the coupon image has not reached the usage limit count. It is confirmed whether or not the coupon usage conditions related to the number of uses are satisfied (S16). The number of coupon images used by customers is confirmed because the coupon budget is set for issuing coupons, and there is often a limit on the number of times that the same coupon can be used. .

  When confirming the usage count of the coupon image, the usage count verification unit 15 of the coupon usage management unit 11 acquires the usage count associated with the coupon ID acquired from the article by the article information acquisition unit 10 from the coupon DB 17. The article information acquisition means 10 acquires the usage limit number associated with the store ID acquired from the article from the store DB 16.

  And if the coupon management means of the coupon management apparatus 1 is less than the use limit frequency | count acquired from store DB16, the coupon management means of the coupon management apparatus 1 will determine with satisfy | filling the coupon usage conditions concerning the frequency | count of use, and coupon DB17. , The number of uses associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquisition unit 10 is incremented by one.

  The coupon usage management unit 11 branches the process according to the determination result of the coupon usage condition related to the number of times of use (S17). If the coupon usage condition related to the number of times of use is not satisfied, the coupon usage management unit 11 determines that the coupon is not permitted. The store terminal 4 is notified of the non-permission of use (S4), and this procedure is terminated. Moreover, the coupon use management means 11 determines that all the coupon use conditions set in the coupon management apparatus 1 are satisfied when the coupon use condition related to the number of uses is satisfied, and permits the use of the coupon to the store. The terminal 4 is notified (S3), and this procedure is terminated.

  Next, the coupon issuing means 18 provided in the coupon management apparatus 1 will be described. The coupon issuing means 18 provided in the coupon management device 1 is a means for issuing a coupon to a customer who applied for a coupon, and is illustrated in FIG. 3 for the mobile terminal 3 of the customer who applied for the coupon. Such a coupon image to which a coupon ID and an authentication code are added is transmitted.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure for the coupon management apparatus 1 to issue a coupon. When a coupon issuance request is received from the mobile terminal 3 possessed by the customer, the coupon issuance means 18 of the coupon management device 1 is activated. When the coupon issuance means 18 is activated, the coupon is issued to the portable terminal 3 that has received the coupon issuance request. A screen for applying is transmitted (S30).

  On the screen for applying for a coupon, information on the store that is stored in the store DB 16 and the issuer of the coupon, the contents of the incentive provided by using the coupon, and the name of the user who applies for the coupon are displayed. , Address, telephone number, e-mail address, age / gender, URL of SNS2 used by the customer, name of community, input form for inputting customer information such as customer's account name in SNS2, etc. are displayed. Is completed, the customer information entered in the input form is transmitted from the portable terminal 3 to the coupon management device 1, and the coupon issuing means 18 of the coupon management device 1 acquires the customer information (S31).

  When the customer information is transmitted from the mobile terminal 3, the coupon issuing means 18 of the coupon management apparatus 1 generates a coupon ID of the coupon applied by the customer (S32), and then generates an authentication code of the coupon applied by the customer. (S33).

  The coupon ID of the coupon applied by the customer may be a value incremented every time a coupon application request is received, and the coupon authentication code applied by the customer encrypts customer information with a predetermined encryption key. Can be generated.

  When the coupon issuing means 18 of the coupon management apparatus 1 generates the coupon ID and authentication code of the coupon, it accesses the URL of the SNS 2 used by the customer applying for the coupon, and uses the name of the community to which the customer applying for the coupon belongs. In the tree structure of the community category, after acquiring a path for identifying the category of the community to which the customer applying for the coupon belongs (S34), a record corresponding to the generated coupon ID is newly generated in the coupon DB 17, and this record In addition, the account name of the customer who applied for the coupon issuance, the URL of SNS2 and the name of the community, the path for identifying the category, the store ID of the store from which the coupon is issued, and the coupon management apparatus 1 when the coupon is issued Generated authentication code, And stores the customer information, such as the initial value of the number of times of use of emissions (S35).

  And the coupon issuing means 18 of the coupon management apparatus 1 refers to the store DB 16 and adds the coupon ID, the authentication code, and the meta information of the coupon image associated with the store ID displayed on the screen for applying for the coupon. After adding store ID etc., a coupon image is transmitted to the portable terminal 3 (S36), and the procedure which issues a coupon is complete | finished.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coupon management apparatus 10 Article information acquisition means 11 Coupon use management means 12 Customer verification part 13 Store verification part 14 Coupon image verification part 15 Use frequency verification part 16 Store DB
17 Coupon DB
18 Coupon issuing means 2 SNS
3 Mobile terminal 4 Store terminal 5 GPS satellite

Claims (10)

From the social network service (SNS) article posted by the customer who uses the coupon and the coupon image of the coupon used by the customer, the account name of the customer who posted the article, the SNS where the article is posted An article information acquisition means for acquiring from the article the name of the community, the coupon ID added to the coupon image,
A coupon database (DB) that stores the account name of the applicant and the name of the community to which the customer belongs in association with the coupon ID added to the coupon image sent to the customer (applicant) who applied for the coupon. If the account name associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquisition means is the same as the account name acquired by the article information acquisition means, or the coupon acquired by the article information acquisition means If the name of the community associated with the ID and the name of the community acquired by the article information acquisition means are the same, a customer verification unit that determines that the use of the coupon is permitted is provided, and the use of the coupon is permitted. One of the coupon usage conditions is that the customer is a registered customer, and all the coupon usage conditions are satisfied To come, and coupon use management means to allow the use of coupons,
A coupon management device comprising:   In the coupon DB, a path for identifying the community category to which the applicant belongs is stored in association with the coupon ID in the community category tree structure, and the article is acquired by the article information acquisition means. A path for identifying a community category is acquired, and the customer verification unit of the coupon use managing unit determines a path associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquiring unit and a path acquired by the article information acquiring unit. If the relationship between the category of the community to which the applicant belongs and the category of the community to which the article is posted is a parent or sibling, it is determined that the customer is permitted to use the coupon. Item 2. The coupon management device according to item 1.   The article posted to the SNS includes the store ID of the store that is the coupon issuer and the location information of the location where the article is posted, and the article information acquisition means includes the location included in the article. The information is acquired from the article, the coupon use managing means refers to the store DB storing the location of the store in association with the store ID, and the position information acquired from the article by the article information acquiring means is the article. When the information acquisition means is equal to the location associated with the store ID acquired from the article, the information acquisition means has a store verification unit that determines that the point where the article is posted is a store corresponding to a coupon, and the article has been posted The coupon management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a point is a location of a store corresponding to a coupon, which is one of the coupon usage conditions.   An authentication code for verifying the coupon image is included in the article, the article information acquisition unit acquires the authentication code from the article, and the coupon usage management unit acquires the article information acquisition unit. 2. A coupon image verification unit that determines that the authentication code is successfully verified as a valid coupon image, wherein the coupon use condition is that the coupon image is valid. The coupon management device according to claim 3.   The number of times the coupon image has been used is stored in the coupon DB in association with the coupon ID, and the coupon usage management means has a predetermined number of times associated with the coupon ID acquired by the article information acquisition means. It is confirmed that the usage limit number has not been exceeded, and if the usage limit number has not been exceeded, a usage number verification unit for incrementing the usage number is provided, and the coupon image usage number has exceeded the usage limit number. The coupon management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein one of the coupon use conditions is not present. A coupon management method for managing the use of coupons distributed using a social network service (SNS),
A device that manages the use of coupons is the account name of the customer who posted the article from a social network service (SNS) article posted by the customer who uses the coupon and the coupon image of the coupon used by the customer. , A step of obtaining from the article a name of the community of the SNS in which the article is posted, and a coupon ID added to the coupon image;
A coupon database that stores the account name of the applicant and the name of the community to which the customer belongs in association with the coupon ID added to the coupon image sent to the customer (applicant) who applied for the coupon by the device. (DB), if the account name associated with the coupon ID acquired in step a is the same as the account name acquired in step a, or the coupon ID acquired in step a If the name of the associated community is the same as the name of the community acquired in step a, a process for determining that the customer is permitted to use the coupon is executed, and the customer is permitted to use the coupon. Step b, where is one of the coupon usage conditions,
Allowing the use of coupons when the device meets all the coupon usage conditions;
Is executed, a coupon management method.   In the coupon DB, a path for identifying a community category to which the applicant belongs in the community category tree structure is stored in association with the coupon ID, and in the step a, the device posts the article. In step b, the device refers to the path associated with the coupon ID acquired in step a and the path acquired in step a, and applies for the application. 7. The customer according to claim 6, wherein the customer is permitted to use the coupon if the relationship between the category of the community to which the person belongs and the category of the community to which the article is posted is a parent or a sibling. Coupon management method.   The article posted to the SNS includes the store ID of the store that is the issuer of the coupon and the location information of the point where the article is posted. In step a, the device is included in the article. Position information is acquired from the article, and in step b, the device refers to the store DB that stores the location of the store in association with the store ID, and the article information acquisition means acquires the position information from the article. However, when the article information acquisition means is equal to the location associated with the store ID acquired from the article, a process is performed to determine that the point where the article is posted is a store corresponding to a coupon, and the article is posted. 8. The coupon according to claim 6, wherein one of the coupon usage conditions is that the location of the store corresponding to the coupon is a location of the store. How to manage emissions.   An authentication code for verifying the coupon image is included in the article, and in the step a, the device acquires the authentication code from the article, and in the step b, the device acquires in the step a. When the verification of the authentication code is successful, a process for determining the valid coupon image is executed, and the coupon use condition is that the coupon image is valid. The coupon management method according to claim 8. The number of times the coupon image has been used is stored in the coupon DB in association with the coupon ID, and in step b, the device has a predetermined number of times associated with the coupon ID acquired in step a. Confirm that the usage limit number has not been exceeded, and if the usage limit number has not been exceeded, execute a process of incrementing the usage number, and confirm that the coupon image usage number has not exceeded the usage limit number. The coupon management method according to claim 6, wherein the coupon usage condition is one of the coupon usage conditions.

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